dkg: seriously dude, WTF? I just had a look at an article linked from your post, with a transcription of the supposedly controversial bits of Mark Shuttleworth's talk. Isn't the word "guys" gender-neutral in that context? Also, how hard is it to understand from the context that he obviously intended the world "girl" to mean "non-techie companion of the opposite sex", whatever that sex may be?

Get a grip, you people. I'm alright with folks denouncing the oppressive patriarchy, but calling Shuttleworth's talk "sexist" is crossing the line towards utter batshit insanity. You guys (and here I'm using the word in a non-gender-specific way) are the ones who owe him an apology.